Greater New Orleans

China flooding kills 701 in worst toll in a decade

A senior Chinese official says flooding this year has killed 701 people, left 347 missing and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, the worst toll across the board in a decade.

The Associated PressResidents walk past trucks buried by a mudslide triggered by heavy rain in Wanyuan in southwest China's Sichuan province on Saturday. Flooding and landslides in communities along the Yangtze River and other scattered parts of China have killed more than 130 people so far this month.

Liu Ning, general secretary of the flood prevention agency, told a news conference Wednesday that flooding has occurred across three-quarters of China's provinces and 25 rivers have seen record-high water levels.

He says in addition to the 701 dead and 347 missing, 645,000 houses have been toppled and overall damage has totaled 142.2 billion yuan. All the figures, Liu said, were the highest China had seen since 2000.